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How does empathy play a role in my recruitment practice?

Empathy is the capacity to understand what another person is experiencing from within the other person’s frame of reference, ie, the capacity to place oneself in another’s shoes.

‘Empathy has many different definitions that encompass a broad range of emotional states, including caring for other people and having a desire to help them; experiencing emotions that match another person’s emotions; discerning what another person is thinking or feeling; and making less distinct the differences between the self and the other.

It also is the ability to feel and share another person’s emotions. Some believe that empathy involves the ability to match another’s emotions, while others believe that empathy involves being tenderhearted toward another person. Compassion and sympathy are two terms that many associate with empathy, but all three of these terms are unique. Compassion is an emotion we feel when others are in need, which motivates us to help them. Sympathy is a feeling of care and understanding for someone in need. It can also be understood as having the separateness of defining oneself and another blur ‘.. states Wikipedia.

I believe it is absolutely essential to realize the importance of empathy when I am acting as an adviser or a qualified recruitment consultant. Job Applicants come to me with the fervent hope of getting a career opportunity. Client companies seek a solution from me to solve their recruitment problems.

When I am talking to a shortlisted job applicant, I probe further to discuss and understand why does he need a change of job at this moment? What does he expect to achieve from the new role, if he is selected? How can I help him in meeting his career development needs? Why should he accept the job offer at a lower CTC or at a different job location from his original plan?

While when I am talking to the HR Recruiter or the HR Manager from my client company .. I insist to get a clear job description sheet to start with. I am keen to know in advance when the said job position is likely to be closed. I am also interested to understand if they are flexible enough to think ‘out of the box’ along with me to arrive at a recruitment solution.

Because I believe my role as a Recruitment consultant, is helping organizations to improve their performance, and I operate primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and the development of tested plans for improvement. It is not just only matching resumes word by word .. to the job description sheet given by the client. As a consultant, I may offer a solution by thinking ‘out of the box’. It is mostly an advisory role aimed at solving problems with long term and short term business goals of the client in mind. My past work experience of more than 20 years in the Niche segments I cater to .. enables me to arrive at a right practical solution.